Social Constructions of Water Quality in South Africa: A case study of the Blesbokspruit River in the Context of Acid Mine Drainage Treatment by Suvania Naidoo
English | EPUB | 2022 | 228 Pages | ISBN : 303098236X | 29.3 MB
This book details how the water quality of the Blesbokspruit River in Gauteng, South Africa was socially constructed by stakeholders and key individuals in the context of acid mine drainage (AMD) and its treatment. Social constructionism is used as the framing for this research to explain how water is intrinsically social.
Findings presented here show that stakeholders are aware that the changes in the physicality of the Blesbokspruit resulted from human interventions and varied uses of the water over the years. Such knowledge, among factors such as the historical context of mining, current coal mining, flows and volumes of water, technology used and processes followed, information and communication, and vested interests influence social constructions of the water quality. What counts as the truth about water varies depending on the individual’s perspective, their purpose, and their individual interests. Further, how one defines water quality influences what treatment processes are preferred in order to improve water quality.
